Don’t trade teachers for technology

There has been a lot of talk about the WRSD budget for the next year. Part of the discussion centers around a Powerpoint presentation on the WRSD budget Web site.

None of the facts are incorrect, but they also aren't relevant. WRSD is one of the lowest per student funded districts in the state. However, this presentation compares us to 55 other “similar” schools. This includes two schools from Martha's Vineyard, three schools from Cape Cod and three schools from the Berkshires. Only four of them have a student population above 4,000. WRSD is over 7,500. Eleven of these schools have populations under 1,000 and six have populations under 500. Another way to look at this is that of these 56 schools, WRSD has total expenditures of over $78 million, where the next closest school district is only $65 million. Six of the schools have budgets under $10 million. The top 10 schools by expenditure per student have less than 1,700 students in their whole school system, which means they need six or less teachers per grade. If you look at 15 schools that ranged from 6,500 to 8,500 students, the number changes significantly. We are still the lowest per student, but the difference between the top and bottom is less than half.

Concentrating the presentation on the expenditures leads away from the real issues. How are our students doing academically? Massachusetts has separate ratings for fourth, eighth and 10th grade. When you rank WRSD against the 55 schools using MCAS rating, we are 11th for grades 10 and eight (top 20 percent) and fourth for grade four (top 7 percent). If you use the 15 schools of similar size, we are second across the board, (top 12 percent).

I have two children in the WRSD and I don't mind spending money on their education, but I want to see some relevant evaluation criteria for the monies spent. I don't want to trade teachers for technology.